Geography

Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator between Colombia and Peru

Map references: South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area 283,560 sq km
land area 276,840 sq km
comparative area slightly smaller than Nevada
note includes Galapagos Islands

Land boundaries: total 2,010 km, Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Coastline: 2,237 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands
territorial sea 200 nm

International disputes: three sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute

Climate: tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

Terrain: coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber

Land use:
arable land 6%
permanent crops 3%
meadows and pastures 17%
forest and woodland 51%
other 23%

Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution
natural hazards subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; periodic droughts
international agreements party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands

Note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

People

Population: 10,677,067 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.01% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 25.82 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 5.67 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 39.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population 69.98 years
male 67.46 years
female 72.62 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.08 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Nationality:
noun Ecuadorian(s)
adjective Ecuadorian

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%, Indian 25%, Spanish 10%, black 10%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%

Languages: Spanish (official), Indian languages (especially Quechua)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population 88%
male 90%
female 86%

Labor force: 2.8 million
by occupation agriculture 35%, manufacturing 21%, commerce 16%, services and other activities 28% (1982)

Government

Names:
conventional long form Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form Ecuador
local long form Republica del Ecuador
local short form Ecuador

Digraph: EC

Type: republic

Capital: Quito

Administrative divisions: 21 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe

Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809) (independence of Quito)

Constitution: 10 August 1979

Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters

Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government President Sixto DURAN BALLEN Cordovez (since 10 August 1992); Vice President Alberto DAHIK Garzoni (since 10 August 1992); election runoff election held 5 July 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Sixto DURAN BALLEN elected as president and Alberto DAHIK elected as vice president
cabinet Cabinet; appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Congress (Congreso Nacional) elections last held 17 May 1992 (next to be held 1 May 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (77 total) PSC 20, PRE 15, PUR 12, ID 7, PC 6, DP 5, PSE 3, MPD 3, PLRE 2, CFP 2, FRA 1, APRE 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Political parties and leaders:
Center-Right parties Social Christian Party (PSC), Jaime NEBOT Saadi, president; Republican Unity Party (PUR), President Sixto DURAN BALLEN, leader; Conservative Party (PC), Vice President Alberto DAHIK, president
Center-Left parties Democratic Left (ID), Andres VALLEJO Arcos, Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos, leaders; Popular Democracy (DP), Jamil MANUAD Witt, president; Ecuadorian Radical Liberal Party (PLRE), Carlos Luis PLAZA Aray, director; Radical Alfarista Front (FRA), Jaime ASPIAZU Seminario, director
Populist parties Roldista Party (PRE), Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director; Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Rafael SANTELICES, director; Popular Revolutionary Action (APRE), Frank VARGAS Passos, leader; Assad Bucaram Party (PAB), Avicena BUCARAM, leader; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Raul AULESTIA, director
Far-Left parties Popular Democratic Movement (MPD), Jorge Fausto MORENO, director; Ecuadorian Socialist Party (PSE), Leon ROLDOS, leader; Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Jose Xavier GARAYCOA, president; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo CASTILLO, director
Communists Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-North Korea), Rene Leon Mague MOSWUERRA, secretary general (5,000 members); Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist-Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), leader NA (3,000 members)

Member of: AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission Ambassador Edgar TERAN
chancery 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone (202) 234-7200
consulate(s) general Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission Ambassador Peter F. ROMERO
embassy Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito
mailing address P. O. Box 538, Unit 5309, Quito, or APO AA 34039-3420
telephone [593] (2) 562-890, 561-623 or 624
FAX [593] (2) 502-052
consulate(s) general Guayaquil

Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia that is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms

Economy

Overview: Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Growth has been uneven because of natural disasters, fluctuations in global oil prices, and government policies designed to curb inflation. Banana exports, second only to oil, have suffered as a result of import quotas of the European Union and banana blight. The new President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN, has a much more favorable attitude toward foreign investment than did his predecessor. Ecuador has implemented trade agreements with Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela and has applied for GATT membership. At the end of 1991, Ecuador received a standby IMF loan of $105 million, which will permit the country to proceed with the rescheduling of Paris Club debt. In September 1992, the government launched a new, macroeconomic program that gives more play to market forces. In 1993, the DURAN-BALLEN administration adopted a rigorous austerity program that resulted in economic stabilization, with inflation cut in half and international reserves boosted to a record $1.3 billion. Growth in 1993 was perhaps only 2% due to falling export prices, notably oil, and slow progress on privatization.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $41.8 billion

National product real growth rate: 2% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $4,000 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 31% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 8% (1992)

Budget:
revenues $1.9 billion
expenditures $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)

Exports: $3 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities petroleum 42%, bananas, shrimp, cocoa, coffee
partners US 53.4%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

Imports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals
partners US 32.7%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries, Japan

External debt: $12.7 billion (1992)

Industrial production: growth rate 3.9% (1991); accounts for almost 30% of GDP, including petroleum

Electricity:
capacity 2,921,000 kW
production 7.676 billion kWh
consumption per capita 700 kWh (1992)

Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal works, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, timber

Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and 35% of labor force (including fishing and forestry); leading producer and exporter of bananas and balsawood; other exports - coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp; crop production - rice, potatoes, manioc, plantains, sugarcane; livestock sector - cattle, sheep, hogs, beef, pork, dairy products; net importer of foodgrains, dairy products, and sugar

Illicit drugs: significant transit country for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru; minor illicit producer of coca; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; important money-laundering hub

Economic aid:
recipient US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $498 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.15 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $64 million

Currency: 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: sucres (S/) per US$1 - 1,947.1 (October 1993), 1,534.0 (1992), 1,046.25 (1991), 767.8 (1990), 767.78 (1990), 526.35 (1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Railroads: 965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track

Highways:
total 28,000 km
paved 3,600 km
unpaved gravel or improved earth 17,400 km; unimproved earth 7,000 km

Inland waterways: 1,500 km

Pipelines: crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km

Ports: Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas

Merchant marine: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 263,752 GRT/378,675 DWT, bulk 1, cargo 3, container 2, liquefied gas 1, oil tanker 14, passenger 3, refrigerated cargo 15, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Airports:
total 211
usable 208
with permanent-surface runways 56
with runway over 3,659 m 1
with runways 2,440-3,659 m 7
with runways 1,220-2,439 m 21

Telecommunications: domestic facilities generally adequate; 318,000 telephones; telephone density - 30 per 1,000 persons; broadcast stations - 272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Branches: Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,734,988; fit for military service 1,850,989; reach military age (20) annually 111,707 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP